


Returning To Love

by Kawaii_Chibi_InuDemon



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/M, Mystery, Romance, Sex, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:29:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 16,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27432049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kawaii_Chibi_InuDemon/pseuds/Kawaii_Chibi_InuDemon
Summary: Danny isn't a one woman kind of guy, not that he doesn't love a certain Goth woman, but when she leaves him to continue her life before returning to his side, one night of passion happens between the pair. He doesn't know what to say the next day, even knowing that she loves him, but she takes his reaction to heart and rushes off without accepting his apologies. Hurt, she goes to her mother, who is in the middle of a spat with her own husband. While staying with her mother another male comes and kidnaps her, but with a trick she allows him to take her to bed, still hurt over her friend's rejection. The thing is that this male comes from a time that an unknown enemy has turned into hell for any halfas, Danny and his wife dead. While they are helping to find out who is behind it they find unlikely allies, one of them being Dan. Who is the enemy that threatens the Ghost Zone and the lives that live in it? Not a person that any of them saw coming!
Relationships: Danny Fenton/Sam Manson, Sam Manson/Original Male Character(s)





	1. Chapter 1

A twenty-two year old Samantha Manson woke up happy for what had to be the first time in several years and the reason behind that was that she had just slept with her best friend, her first crush and disaster as well, the night before. The light from the morning sun filled the room and though the dark haired woman normally hated that, today there was nothing that could ruin this moment in time... At least not that she knew. They had been friends forever, the pair of them attending Casper Elementary, Casper High before drifting apart during her years at college. They had stayed in contact of course, but being apart distance wise had been hard for them when they had been so used to being together all the time.

When she had hit the age of seventeen she had graduated from Casper High while Danny had stayed on for another year, and that had been only because her grades had allowed her to pass her schooling a year earlier than both Tucker and Danny. Danny was bound to Amity, as he was their super hero while Tucker had become the youngest mayor, and finding he loved the job, as well as the perks that came with it, he decided to continue in his role. Sam had had gone on to complete her college degree in less than four years and while going back to Amity had not been her ideal plan, she had gone back for him. That had of course been a mistake on her part, but she had done it none the less only to find that Danny was what one referred to as a Casanova. He loved the female gender, but did not want to tie himself down to any of them. She had found this out after sleeping with him. The sheets rustled as she stretched her legs out, her mind clearing of all the dreams from the night before as she concentrated on the good of the day... and the night.

Turning to him now she smiled as he continued to sleep peacefully, his raven hair falling over half of his face as he snored softly. At that moment his eyes opened, slowly, as he stretched out and then it hit him that he wasn't alone, the feeling of someone looking at him drawing his attention to her. Looking up at her, his ice blue eyes growing wide Sam found him looking rather uneasy, as if the situation wasn't what he had planned on. Well, she hadn't either and it hadn't helped that they had gotten fucking wasted the night before either, so knowing that it would end badly she decided to cut the thick awkwardness that filled the room. She had hoped that this had been fate, that they belonged together, but that look on his face told her otherwise.

"I have to get going," she said scrambling to climb over him without touching the halfa next to her, because she knew that if she touched him she wasn't going to want to stop touching. Grabbing her clothing, most of it around the edge of the bed, she made a hasty retreat to the bathroom that was next to his room. As the door slammed it finally hit the raven haired male that he had somehow hurt his best friend and he never intended to hurt her...EVER. So getting up and pulling on a pair of jean, sans underwear he knocked on the bathroom door. Hell, he hadn't even said anything and yet the love that had been in her eyes just moments ago had faded like the fog as the morning sun hit it.

"Sam, I so didn't mean to-" He was cut off as the door opened to the restroom and Sam stopped to look him in the eyes, her own amethyst orbs shuttered and that was when he was absolutely sure he had hurt his friend's feelings, hell, he was surprised that she hadn't started cussing at him yet since that was how she usually reacted when he fucked up, but no, this time the Goth before him was calm... That might be worse.

"It doesn't matter," she stated, her tone cold. "As far as I am concerned it never did and we need never talk about it again." The halfa sputtered, his mouth and brain fried from her lack of emotion. "Now, if you could move I need to head out as I have a job today and only a week to complete it." When he didn't immediately move she pushed him to the side, her bare feet slapping on the wood floor as she headed down the corridor and for the front where she was sure her boots were. She had left her panties somewhere in Danny's room, not that it mattered to her because he could just keep that as a memento of his mistake as far as she was concerned. Not a good idea at that same time because she was wearing a rather short skirt, but once again she wasn't staying longer than she needed to so grabbing her boots she headed for the front door. "I'll talk to you later."

"Sam, c-" The Goth opened the door and in seconds slammed it behind her as she rushed down the front steps toward her black Ronn Motors Scorpion that she had bought a year ago as a present to herself for all her hard work. What had really caught her attention, besides how hot it looked, was the fact that it was eco friendly. That was the big seller for her. Pulling out her keys she quickly unlocked her door as Danny came rushing down the walkway, barefoot mind you, before stopping just inches from Sam, his brain still not coming up with anything that would make the Gothic woman before him stop and listen to him.

"Danny, I have to go, so anything that you need to say can wait until later." Climbing in she slammed the door before locking the doors, the raven haired woman familiar with his tactics knew that he could phase through the door if he wanted to, but with her locks she had installed a ghost shield. "Bye." Her smile was forced, but she was pretty good with hiding her feelings from her friend, or at least she had been until today. Today had been shit. Heading off toward her job the last thought in her head as she saw him in the distance was 'I need to move'. Knowing Danny he was going to make this into something bigger, so the best thing to do was go away for a while. It had helped in the past when the pair had had a really big falling out. That summer she had opted not to go on their annual trip, stating that she needed space so the other two teens had gone while she had stayed home. 'Not one of my better choices, but when he came home everyone was calmer.'


	2. Chapter 2

Sam was able to avoid her halfa friend for the most part, not Tucker of course, but she was working for the young mayor. He didn't bug her the first day, maybe a wise thing because when you had someone painting you for the Mayoral auction, then it was best that you kept them happy. By the third day Danny had managed to convince him to talk to the irritated Goth, not that she was really irritated now. The raven haired woman in question was now back to her normal self, or so it seemed, but Danny hadn't really gotten to talk to her since that day, his calls ignored and his emails unanswered. He would have been worried, but he had a clue that she wasn't talking to him.

"So, how are things with you and Danny?" the dark skinned Mayor inquired as Sam entered his office for one of the last days on the portrait. She said nothing at first as she set up her supplies again, the picture left in the office for safety.

"Fine. I haven't been talking to him, if that is what you are inquiring about, but not for lack of trying." Instructing him to sit before her as he had done the days prior she waited. "With work here and then family issues on the other hand I haven't been talking to anyone, save you and my mom." Beginning to paint she stopped talking. That was one thing about her paintings. She never did talk during them and now was no exception.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A few days after that found Danny waiting outside Sam's home, well, her rented space. She had yet to actually buy a home. It had bothered him times before, that once she had left for college that when she had come home, she hadn't wanted to buy a home, not Sam. She rented a studio apartment and had no animals to speak of at this time. Hell, he knew she had the maternal instinct. Thinking of that time with the flour sack made him smile, but still she refused to buy anything that required care taking. Strange, but then again he was the same on some level. No plants. No animals. Nothing, but he had decided that he wasn't ready to be anyone or anything's caretaker. He wasn't old enough and had yet to have his fill of the world, not that he would see the world because he did protect Amity and that was enough. Sighing he waited for his best friend, his eyes glancing to his watch, the one that she had gotten him at the age of sixteen, the black face had a glow in the dark ghost, that of course didn't show up until you were in the dark.

That's Sam. So creative and so giving, but only with people closest to her. Looking out he watched as the wind blew the leaves on the trees, people walked by since it was still light out and children played. Sam had chosen a really nice place with so many families and yet the apartments she had chosen were not what one would expect of a Manson, not that Sam was a typical Manson. The woman was still an ultra-recyclo vegetarian, bent making others see her point of view, though not as pushy as she had been the first time around. That brought another chuckle to his lips just as the sound of a car pulling into the drive caught his attention. To his dismay it wasn't Sam, but a guy. Maybe he lived in the apartment... "Um, hey, do you know Sam?"

"Yeah, Sam Manson, right?" Danny nodded. "Yeah, I helped her pack her shit up last night. Said she had to leave town for a while, but that she would be back. Hell, she subleased me her apartment until she got back." The guy was smiling, his straight white teeth making Danny want to punch them out. "Hey! You're that Danny Phantom dude, right?"

"Yeah, I am Danny Phantom." What the hell did that matter? The halfa wanted to find his friend and him being the damned Phantom had nothing to do with that!

"She had a letter for you, hold on." Running into the building Danny found himself growing angrier. Sam never did this! She never ran away!

'Well, that's not right because that one summer she decided not to go with you, but the both of us were so angry that it was probably for the best. Why wou-' His thoughts were cut short when the guy came back, a black envelope in hand. Taking it and thanking the male he took to the skies, his eyes full of confusion as to what had happened. Had he driven his best friend out of town? The skies around him grew colder as night set in. Touching down at his house again, he opened the black envelope, the smell of lavender hitting him full on.

-Hey, I know that you were expecting to talk to me at some point this week,

but something came up and I had to head out. As for this week, sorry, my dad and mom are fighting

again so I have headed out with my mom to make sure that she doesn't do

anything dangerous, not that the last time wasn't bad enough. Anyway, I still have my cell on me,

not that I will be able to answer it all the time, but if you want to leave a message I will get back to you.

See you as soon as this is all over.

Sam Manson-

Danny found his eyes going back over every syllable because for some reason it all felt fake. Like the Goth woman had decided to concoct this great tale and had managed to get her parents into it.

'Damn! I am starting to sound paranoid.' Walking into his house he noticed that his machine had a voice-mail on it, he didn't get too many of those since most people knew his cell number. Pushing the button he waited for the person to say something and yet nothing made a sound, except for breathing. What the fuck? He waited as the tape continued to play, the only sound on the tape breathing, deep and rather unsteady breathing. BEEP. Nothing, that was it? Shaking his head he went to delete it and then stopped. Picking up his phone he pushed the button to tell him the number associated with that voice-mail. Unknown? Now isn't that interesting. There was nothing more he could do with that information. Of course Tucker could help him, but seeing as the message wasn't threatening he blew it off. He had more important things to do.

It didn't take long to get ahold of his close friend, Tucker, but when he did it was a little harder to pull him away from his family. Tucker had married and was enjoying his role as father to two children, a two year old and an infant.

"What do you want me to do?" the geek asked, his two year old daughter in his arms as he sat back on the couch. "She left you because you can't commit and you know it took a lot of guts to even stand there and act like nothing was wrong." Danny nodded, but he wasn't here for a lecture. He was here to find out what he could do to get her back. "I hate to say this to you, but I don't think I can help you." That was a shocker. Tucker was always into playing matchmaker so for him to say no this time was big.

"Why the hell not?" The geek shot him a look before looking down at his daughter, the small child smiling at her father. "Sorry man, but I don't understand." Tucker let out a frustrated sigh as he leaned forward to deposit his child on the floor, his instructions to find her mother taken serious as she rushed out of the room. When he was sure she was gone the technophile before him began his long winded story.

"Okay, here's the deal. You are a fucker," Tucker started. "I could forgive you for the first several years that Sam had a minor crush on you because you and her were just too clueless, but now it's serious. You fucked her and then turned her away knowing that you couldn't commit to her."

"I've had sex with a lot of women and you haven't ever-"

"Shut up Danny," came a voice to the left. There stood Valerie, her teal eyes flashing. "You fucked women, no, you fucked other women. Sam isn't like the others because she is your friend and her love for you is genuine." Walking into the room, her steps loud in the silent space. "You fucked your best friend and then want to find her because you feel guilty? No, we will not help you in this endeavor because Sam deserves better."

"Val is correct in what she says, Danny. Sam's crush developed into something strong and she held onto it even with the pain that came with it when you dated and screwed other females in high school. You were hormonal like most guys and so we let it be. Valerie went and spent nights over at Sam's house trying to keep that girl together."

"Sam's strong and-"

"No! Sam may be strong, but she's human like the rest of us and she can only take so much before she breaks. Hell, I am amazed she lasted this long with you around, but then again she did leave." Valerie made a comment about her surprise at the Goth's return while Danny just sat there. He felt betrayed and at the same time he was shocked at what they were telling him. He had never known the Goth to have such feelings, well, he knew she had liked him but he had assumed it was her love of individually that had sparked that admiration. Never had he even thought she wanted more from him than that.

"She dated Gr- Elliot," the halfa pointed out.

"To see if she could find love and also because he was interested in her while at the same time knowing who and what she was." Tucker's eyes narrowed. "She lives with parents who don't see her as anything but an heir, not a person with her own ideas and feelings. She only had three friends; you, me, and Valerie and that was because she didn't trust anyone else to look past her appearance. Hell, she didn't even let us into her house until we were fourteen!" Danny was beginning to see the big picture in a way he had never seen it. Sam had never trusted people, hell, even though they had been good friends she had hid her wealth, her status. She had been ashamed of her title because she saw it as a prison.

"Okay," Danny said as he stood up to leave, not another word said as he exited their house. 'I fucked up and now I have to fix it myself.' Walking down the street he headed toward his house, his mind going over all that the letter had said and wondering at the same time how he could fix this grievous error on his part.

'First you have to admit your feelings...'

Danny stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. His feelings? What were his feelings on Sam? He cared about her and she was the one that had always been there when he needed her, no matter what time it was or the danger she put herself in. Had that been because she loved him?

"Fucking hell!" he yelled as he ran his fingers through his raven toned hair. This was driving him insane.

'Why?'

Why was the exact question he needed to ask himself. Why was it making him crazy? Sam was a friend and he couldn't take it to the next level without risking his feelings and hers in the mix.

'You already took it there and then dropped her back down.'

"Shut up," he muttered, unsure as to where that nagging voice was coming from, but it was making him so fucking angry and he wanted to kill it. He couldn't think here so taking to the skies he hurried to his house. That was the place to talk to this stupid voice without people thinking he was possessed or crazy.


	3. Chapter 3

Sam laid back as the shade cooled her warm skin. Her mother was in the sun next to her, the older woman's skin bathed in sunscreen as she sighed. Her parents fought so frequently that Sam had gotten used to it, but there was something different this time that it made the Goth uneasy.

"Mom," she said sitting up, her amethyst eyes falling on her mother's relaxed face. "Something's different this time. Tell me what's going on." Her mother let out another sigh, but this one was mildly frustrated.

"Your father and I are fine, we just had a spat because I'm pregnant." That stopped any more words from leaving Sam's mouth as her mother sat up, her teal eyes shimmering. "I don't know what we are going to do and he is a little upset that I am even having to think about."

"You're pregnant?! How the fuck did you get pregnant?" Her mother sighed at that and then smiled.

"Do you want me to answer that because I assumed that you knew how sex works." Sam groaned in disgust, the feeling of vomit working up her throat. "Sam?" her mom questioned in concern as she leaned forward when Sam's face went green. "It's not that bad honey." Sam shook her head as she fled toward the bathroom. Pamela got up and rushed after her daughter in confusion only to run into someone. When she almost fell back she felt someone grasp her upper arms.

"I am so sorry," came a rough male voice and when Pamela looked up she found herself looking into the greenest eyes she had ever seen. The man's dark hair looked to be reddish brown and yet you could only see the red when the light hit it.

"No, forgive me," Pamela said, her manners coming into play. "I wasn't looking where I was going and oh- I need to assist her!" Apologizing again she headed after her daughter, unaware that the man she had run into was following her, his shadow behind him now as he tracked her. Pamela rushed into the bathroom, her steps slowing as she stopped at the first stall to find her daughter leaning over the stool. "Are you okay?"

"I-I think it was something I ate," she muttered. "Stupid airplane food always makes me sick." The red head nodded. That was true. Sam never could stomach the plane food, but then again she hated flying in airplanes. "I'll be f-" She stopped as someone tall stepped behind her mother. The older woman noticed the look on her daughter's face so she turned around just in time for him to grasp her mouth with a white rag. Pamela fought as Sam rushed to her mother's aid. "Leave her alone!" Knocking Sam off of him the man continued to hold her mother still. As the older woman finally settled he laid her on the ground, her claw marks on his hand bleeding and leaking down his tan skin.

He turned to Sam now, his green eyes narrowing in lust.

"I have been looking for you, Samantha." The Goth's eyes grew huge at her name. "I have heard so much about you and have felt a burning to have you for my own sex slave." Sam blanched as she moved back, the man smirking. The action showed his fangs and the Goth had a suspicion he was a ghost. Pulling out her weapon she went to blast him just seconds after he had thrown up a shield "No, that won't work as I have had plenty of time to practice my powers and no, I am not just a ghost, Samantha."

"You're a half ghost." He wasn't surprised at her guess.

"Yes, I am a halfa, like your friend, Daniel. The difference between the two of us is that I was born into my body and not given the powers, but that has nothing to do with us." Moving toward her he held out the rag, but Sam refused to give in and kicking out managed to catch him off guard. Shoving his head into the toilet bowl she rushed out of the stall and past her mother toward the door. Grasping the knob she found that she was locked in. Desperate she aimed the device toward the door and pressing a button watched it blast a hole in the wooden door. Before she could make a run out the door she found herself shoved into the door with a loud thud. Groaning as she was slammed again and again into the door she found her vision blackening and her body slacking.

"Don't worry, Samantha," came his voice in ear, the heat of his breath bringing the urge to vomit back even as her world grew darker. "Your mother is safe and you, you will enjoy everyday I abuse your body." That was when her world finally faded and darkness welcomed her and she welcomed it.

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When Sam awoke she found herself in a cold room, the walls covered in moss as a breeze came through the many cracks in the room's structure. Sitting up she leaned up against the cold wall, her body aching from the attack that she had endured. Looking around she groaned as her mind called her attention to the fact she had been knocked into a fucking door! Touching her head she wasn't shocked to see the red brown liquid that coated her fingers.

"Welcome to my home, Samantha," came the voice from before. She looked to find that the wall before her was actually a camouflaged door, the sound of rock scraping on rock making the pain in her head intensify. "I hope you are ready for the ride of my life." Before Sam could blink she found herself thrown up against the wall, her body screaming at the pain, but as his teeth scraped her throat she felt pleasure, something that was strange since the man holding her was a complete stranger to her and yet the danger held her in it's thrall was she felt his hand on her breast as he began to massage the globe. She felt disgust and yet even as that feeling made her stomach roll the other half of her enjoyed the roughness as his nails scraped through her thin one piece, the cape she had pulled over it gone.

"I will have sooo much fun fucking you, Samantha." When Sam failed to answer the man before her growled. She couldn't see him all that well. He looked like Danny, his green eyes those of her halfa friend and yet he held such power that she could feel it coming off of him in waves. "Enjoy this time, because when I break up with my slaves you find that the Ghost Zone is all that awaits you." The Goth groaned as he ripped off the top of her bathing suit, the cold air making her nipples pucker as his mouth trailed away from her neck, his fangs leaving a trail of blood in their wake as she moaned lightly.

"If you would like I can take the form of one that makes you burn, Samantha." Before she could answer she found herself looking into a pair of familiar blue eyes, the chill in them warming as he gazed down at her and even as she knew it wasn't really him the Goth found looking into his eyes that she could surrender. Reaching for him she pulled his lips down to hers in a passionate kiss that rocked both of them as he pushed her further into the wall, the feel of the rough stone making Sam cry out in pain while at the same time his fingers bit into her upper arms. She muttered something and even though it was low he could hear it and a smirk twisted his lips as he threw her arms over her head, beams of energy flickering in his hands as he bonded her to the wall. Marks began to form on her wrists, but the Goth paid it no heed as she allowed him to trail back down to her hardened nipples, his fangs cutting into her flesh.

"Mmm," she moaned as she arched into his touch. Somehow having him as the source of both her pain and pleasure Sam found she could enjoy his touches, but there was one question on her mind. "My mom-m?" she managed to query about.

"Safe on the beach, all of this forgotten." The Goth wasn't a bit surprised he would do that and at the same time she was thankful he had wiped her mother's mind. Her mother was about to have the child she had always dreamed of. The child that would be like her dream of what a Manson child should be. Not like Sam. She felt a tear leave her amethyst orb, but as he started touching her womanhood she found that all she could think about was the pleasure that radiated through her body. "Forget all of that, Sam," he said, his voice like that of Danny, his tone thoughtful and yet so unnatural. "Forget that past life. This is your new life. Enjoy this." She arched up as a shock went through her body. The pain making the next touch of his all the more pleasurable.


	4. Chapter 4

Danny stood before the place, that he had learned from Thurston, was where his wife went when they had a fight. Walking around on the beach he found beautiful women aplenty, but no Sam. Walking by several couples, all of them smiling and giggling he found himself growing even more upset. Sam had wanted that and he knew he wasn't the one to give that to her and yet the thought that she had dated others made him want to kill all the men in the world to assure that she would never be with another.

"Thank you. Yes, that's all I need." Hearing the sound of Pamela he turned to find her sitting in the sun, the light beaming from the utmost spot in the sky. She was on the phone, her voice wafting over to him as she conversed. He approached her and when she noticed him she smiled, a smile he had never seen directed at him. Hanging up she motioned for him to advance. "Hello, Daniel. What brings you out here?"

"Sam. Where is she?" At that the older woman looked perplexed.

"Sam, she was in Amity last I heard, doing a painting for Tucker. What makes you think she was here?" Danny thought the older woman before him must be playing with him, but when he handed her the letter he watched the shock bloom on her face as she reread it. "I-" She stopped as a vision burst behind her eyes. "She was here, but-" With a groan she held her head and that was when Danny noticed a mark on her temples. It was light, but it was there nonetheless.

"What happened to you?" That seemed to trigger something as a blank look came across the redhead's teal eyes before she blinked up at him.

"Some guy. I ran into him and he followed us." Danny's eyes narrowed as he felt a panic grip him.

"What guy?!" he inquired as he grabbed her upper arms, his form leaning over the wealthy woman. "What happened?"

"He came into the bathroom where Sam was. We were talking and then she stopped and looked behind me, a look of confusion on her face so I turned and there he was, his green eyes glowing at us. That was the last thing I remember and then I awoke back in bathroom." Danny released her and after getting instructions headed for the bathroom that the Goth had been in. He entered the vacant room, the size of the bathroom that of a studio apartment, the walls covered in white tile while the stalls were a pink carnation color. Looking around he could see no evidence of abduction, but as he turned to leave he noticed that there was a small dent in the door, the metal bent in like a something had been knocked into it.

Reaching out he touched the spot and it was as if he had been there, the vision of a man looking down at him as he felt the pressure of something on his neck. That's when he realized it was fingers, there were fingers in his neck as he was brought forward and then back, the sound of skull hitting metal echoing around him. Blinking he came back to reality.

'Sam!' What the fuck happened? That was strange. He had never had visions like that before, nightmares maybe, but visions upon touching something, never! Walking out of the bathroom he took to the skies, his destination unknown, but he knew that he needed some serious help and Tucker would give it this time if the halfa could convince him.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"So, you're telling me that you touched the door and you saw someone and felt like you were being manhandled?" The dark skinned male was looking at him strangely and Danny thought for a second that the male was going to deny his help again but then the next words surprised him. "Damn and I thought that Sam was crazy."

"What are you talking about?" Valerie entered the room and sat down next to her husband. "What's going on?" Valerie was the one that spoke and her words were something that shocked the halfa even more.

"Sam always seemed to know when you were in trouble and for some reason could see you fighting even if you were nowhere around. We thought it was strange, but she didn't for some reason. She accepted it and used it to our advantage."

"You didn't think it was strange that we could always find you?" Tucker questioned. Now that Danny thought about it yeah it had been strange, but he had just been thankful that they could find him. "It would make sense you could do the same thing. The fact is that you and Sam have always been close and with that is a connection to each other." Danny nodded, though he was still uncertain on a few things.

"What I need to do now is find her and even with what I saw I still can't really place who it is and what he did with her," the halfa stated in annoyance. Sitting down he closed his eyes, his mind conjuring up all sorts of scenarios and with each one his heart cracked and bled. How could he have allowed this to happen? Fuck, if he had just kept his hands to himself then this wouldn't have happened. She would be in her house just relaxing, but no, he had seen her as more than he should have and allowed his lust to take hold of him and fuck his best friend. "Argh!" he growled out in frustration. "How could I have been so fucking stupid?!"

"Danny, this is what happens often enough. Get over yourself." The halfa looked to the techno-geek, his blue eyes flashing green for a second in warning, Tucker and Valerie taking a step back. "Her parents argue and she goes to calm one of them down so she becomes an easy target to catch." The halfa's eyes narrowed now, but he wasn't sure if his friends knew what was really bothering him. He had to admit that even though he was not ready for anything solid in a relationship, he found that he wanted Sam in that role. He wanted her to wait for him and to never look at another guy the way she had looked at him that night.

The look that had been in her eyes that night had been a mixture of love and pleasure, the combination so deadly that Danny had wanted to make her look like that forever and yet at the same time it scared him. He couldn't allow her to love him because he couldn't offer her a real life. Could he even have babies? Sam wanted children, he knew this and she wanted to leave Amity, but his life was Amity. He couldn't leave and she didn't want to stay so where could their relationship go? Where could their relationship go if she were to say yes and he were to stop feeling so insecure about what he couldn't give her? Would it be enough?

"Look, we can see that you are upset about this, but there's only so much we can do and since her mother remembers very little in the way of information th-" Danny's head turned with a snap. He remembered what she had said and what he had seen.

"Glowing green eyes," he stated. At first it didn't seem to trigger anything with the pair, but then when Danny's own eyes flashed green it hit them. "He's a ghost."

"Or a halfa!" Valerie stated with a look of shock. There were only two halfas and Vlad was gone. Who could this per-

"DAN!"

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Rushing back to the place she had disappeared, the trio standing in the bathroom after having talked to Pamela. The older woman had been mildly confused, as she had the first time, but this time after Danny talking to her about what he had seen she began to fret.

"I just can't believe that she is pregnant," Tucker said with a shudder. The woman was well past her time from what he could tell and just the idea that she and her husband were still getting it on was making him sick as he thought of his own parents still doing the dirty! With a shudder he turned to the dent that had been left behind from Sam's attack or supposed attack because even as much as he could believe his friend saw something there was no real proof, just a missing Goth girl and Sam had done that before.

"I don't care to talk about that," came the response from Valerie. "I want to know what happened to Sam. Sure, she's known to disappear, but without a reason to?"

"Danny's the reason!" Tucker claimed before looking to said halfa. The green eyes that flashed at him made him shake in fear. That particular look was usually reserved for the ghosts that the halfa wanted to destroy. Turning away quickly he began to comb the area around the stalls while Valerie inspected the area around the inside of the door. Danny took off through the door after turning himself intangible.

Once outside the walls where his two friends still searched he found his eyes drifting to the area that surrounded the bathrooms. There were trees, but it was still visible to the people on the beach. How is it that no one noticed this happen? The answer to that was simple, but the fact that no one was close enough to hear a skull hit a metallic door? Shaking his head he walked away from the bathroom, no closer to solving anything about Sam's disappearance than he was before.

"Where are you, Sam?" he asked the blue skies above him. "Where?"

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Days later found the Goth laying in the same bed she had for what felt like forever. Her skin was still bare, her hair in knots around her head and yet she found that she could care less. It was like she was free, her skin tingling with the chill that came from the cracks and her mind free of any worries. If anything she had forgotten why she was here and in that she found that she could care less...

"What was I doing?" she whispered to the empty room. Her partner, that was what he was, was gone. Sometimes he left for short intervals. He would always return with food, but sometimes he would come back with clothing, stuff that she would wear for him and then he would rip off. It was strange, but not in a bad way. Was she into that? She hadn't been sure the first time he had done it, but after that she hadn't been sure of anything. Everything felt right and then the air grew colder...the sign that her lover was back. She didn't even look around. Her partner never came the same way. He liked to surprise her.

"Miss me?" The question brought her upright to find him at the end of the bed, his ice blue eyes those of Danny, someone that she felt was close to her, his name stuck with his eyes in her head, but yet, she couldn't remember much of him except for those eyes. She felt that blue wasn't the only color, but yet that sounded crazy even to her ears.

"Yes," she whispered, her eyes landing on the bag of food he had brought her. Somehow he knew she didn't eat meat, when at one point she she didn't even remember it. Just the thought of meat seemed to bother her stomach, but he had known. Shaking it off she took what he offered, the tall raven haired male sitting next to her, though he never ate with her. This time he pulled out a tray and opening it began to eat. It was strange. There they sat, both eating as if it were something they did everyday and yet, he really never spent time time with her. They had sex, sometimes they slept together, but in the last day it had changed... And she wasn't sure what to think.

It felt good to have that companionship and yet at the same time it wasn't the companion she wanted. Was that weird? Was she strange for yearning for the unknown? He seemed to sense her preoccupation and taking her food away placed them both out of reach before pushing her onto the bed. As his fangs brushed her jugular she found herself drifting... The unknown forgotten...just barely...


	5. Chapter 5

Danny moved around the resort, Pamela having issued him a key to a room, with her compliments. She had felt bad that her daughter had been taken, her mind wiped to forget, and that she had forgotten. Though he tried to sooth her with words of understanding, he had felt angry that she hadn't even realized her own daughter had been brutally hurt and taken by a sicko who wanted God knows what with her!

"I know what you are thinking and you need to just forget it," came a voice from behind him. He glanced back at Valerie, the geek next to her nodding in agreement. "She was brainwashed and you have to remember who you are talking about. This is Pamela Manson, a woman who has little in the way of true maternal instinct, refusing to really see her own daughter as more than an heir." The halfa still wasn't happy and instead of responding he headed down the walkway, well, it was more of a trail that led through the woods. Around them the birds chirped, the wind blew and other people walked around, most of them couples.

"I just can't understand how he managed to take her wit-"

"We know, Danny," Tucker stated, his exasperated sigh making the raven haired ghost fighter grind his teeth. How could his friend be so flippant about the whole thing? Sam had been kidnapped by a man that could only be his worse enemy and the pair behind him acted like nothing was wrong. "We should go see Clockwork." Valerie nodded, her voice low as she talked with her mate. The pair talked quietly about the idea while Danny moved faster from them, his eyes flashing green in annoyance.

Tucker was right. If this was Dan then the ghost of time would know, but then that brought to mind the question of why the time ghost had failed to bring this to his attention. That meant that it was possible that one of two things happened. One, Clockwork was dead, not that he wasn't dead before, just his ghost form was gone...or second, this wasn't Dan. Danny wasn't sure which worried him more. The fact that Dan wasn't behind this or that Clockwork was dead, but he knew one thing. Both were bad for Sam.

"You're right, we need to go and see Clockwork!" Turning back they headed for the hotel parking lot.

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Days later found Danny back from the visit with Clockwork, the young halfa having gone alone. Tucker and Valerie hadn't understood his need to go alone, but hadn't argued with him about the request. He walked through the portal's door where his family stood waiting, his friends beside them. They wanted to know what had taken him days to find out from the time ghost.

"What happened?" Tucker asked, his eyes wide as he looked at his halfa friend. Danny looked worried... and like he hadn't slept. What could have brought that look to his eyes? What could be so worrisome? The white haired male de-transformed, his raven hair and ice blue eyes returning. "Danny?" The halfa looked at him, the feelings reflecting in his ice blue eyes so strong.

"Clockwork knew, but he couldn't do anything. Said he couldn't interfere with time." Everyone looked confused by those words. The ghost of time had stepped in last time, his regard of Danny the highest. He had wanted the halfa to succeed, but now it seemed that had changed... "He gave me information about the ghost that has come to our town..." he faded off as if he were thinking of the right words. Was it that bad? He turned from them now, his steps taking him to a counter full of tubes and vials. He turned to the group standing before him. His parents, his family, Tucker and Valerie. All of them were ready to fight, but this enemy was different. "His name is Neo. He was born a half ghost."

"Born a halfa?" Maddie inquired, her purple eyes growing wide.

"Yes," Danny said. "His father was a human and his mother a ghost." Before anyone could ask for more information he continued, "Don't ask me because I don't know how that is possible, but it seems that it is." Everyone just stood there, the confusion palpable in the room. This was new. They had fought against both halfas and ghosts alike, but a halfa that had been born that way...no, that was a horse of a different color. He had had more time to learn his powers which made him a more complex and possibly stronger enemy! "He has powers that neither I nor Vlad had, things that not even Clockwork understood."

"Where is she?" The raven haired halfa shook his head. He didn't know. Clockwork, though torn, hadn't released that information. "How can we help her if we don't know where she is?!"

"I don't know," the male said, his tone one of defeat and frustration all meshed together. "I...don't know." The halfa felt torn and so hurt. His friend, his best friend and lover was captured by a man he knew little to nothing about. He didn't know what the male wanted with the Goth or what he was going to do to her much less how the raven haired beauty was fairing in his company! How could he even begin to comprehend how she was when he knew nothing?!

"What are you going to do?" Tucker questioned.

"I don't know." It was that simple. He had no plan. He had no idea where to start and with the Ghost Zone being part of this guy's domain that made it twice as large than if had just been the Earth. The Zone was an endless place. He had been mapping it out for years, even going by what was on the Infi-map, and it wasn't nearly done. There were several doors that went to different times...Danny blinked. Times? The Zone had a way to go in the past so did that mean he could have come from there as well? Could the doors lead to different futures? Or was that only possible through the mirror that Clockwork kept in his tower? "I'm heading out." Without so much as information on his whereabouts the halfa headed back into the portal, the door closing soundly behind him.

"What is he doing?" Jack questioned. Everyone around him just shrugged. There was no reading his mind...

"Guess we need to just let him handle it then," the techno-geek supplied with another shrug. Valerie growled low and with a smack to the back of his head walked off, grumbling something about idiot males. Jazz smirked and headed off with the dark skinned woman, their voices fading as they exited the room. Jack just rubbed the back of his head as he looked to his wife.

While they talked in low voices Tucker just looked at the door in confusion while on the other side of the portal door Danny headed to his unknown destination.

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The male, his raven hair like that of the small woman's, was messed up, his ice blue eyes watching her as she slept. He had gone to a lot of trouble to find this woman, her amethyst orbs closed to the world as she dreamed. He had come from a time in which halfas were common knowledge and yet most of the humans in his time were not tolerant of their existence. They were treated as scum, like they had no right to live. And yet he had heard of females from a time known for only two halfas that had loved them. Had treated them with respect. He wanted that.

'You were the one that I heard the most about,' he thought as he watched her sleep. She was the one that had accepted both the human and ghost side of Daniel Fenton, the young male who had been turned half ghost by a machine his ghost hunting parents had created. 'You didn't even hesitate in your love for him.' Though he had known her love for Danny, the male had still wanted her. Had wanted that love she gave so freely to someone who should have been shunned. This was time of hate, not like his time which didn't look poorly on someone for being different, but only when it came to someone being middle or first class. There were no low class citizens in his time.

That had been done away with years before his birth. No one was poor in his time. There were no homeless people...and most of the major diseases had been cured. Ghosts had been another story though. The ghost portals that had been in the Fenton residence and the Masters' residence had been put under restriction, shut down and sealed after Daniel Fenton had died. His son, though a halfa, had been shunned too, as had his daughter. The pair had moved away from Amity. It shouldn't have been that way, but something had happened...Something had changed it all. It should have been a different time since so many halfas had been born, but suddenly halfas had begun to disappear, the ghosts that had been in their town forced back to the Ghost Zone. His mother, who had loved his father as much as his old man had loved her had suddenly begun to fight.

His father had captured his mother and forced her back to the Zone just days before the portal was sealed. Danny Fenton and his wife had been dead for a long time before that. A terrible accident had occurred at Nasty Burger 2. Something had gone wrong and the sauce, the Nasty Sauce had blown up killing several people. That was when things had changed...

"Danny," came a soft voice, the feminine tone sad and shaky. He moved closer to where Sam slept, her temple covered in sweat, the glistening moisture making her raven hair stick to her pale skin. She let out another little whimper before rolling onto her side. He sighed, his fingers reaching out to move the wet hair away from her face. He knew that keeping her wasn't the right thing, the threat he had spoken to her a lie. He would never do that to her though he had disposed of other woman he had been with. Sam had been his true target all along. Looking down at her he knew that she would be the key to making his timeline right again and yet he knew that she had to be with the man she was meant to be with and he wasn't it, but while he had wanted to be with her he had also needed her help.

The problem had been that he need her to want to help him so using his powers he had lowered her guard, had made it easier for her to give into him. Her love wasn't real. Not the affection she thought she felt for him, but she believed that she loved him and that would work in his favor. Moving away from her he began to plan the next step. He had to find out what had made the sauce explode...who had done that which had killed the two ghost fighters.


	6. Chapter 6

Sam lay in bed several days later feeling less than happy. She had begun to open her eyes, really look around her at the place she was and the man she was with. It didn't take long for her to realize who she was with, who she had given herself to. She wasn't proud of her choice, but at the same time she knew that she had done it thinking the man holding her had been the man she loved. Danny. He was her heart and soul, someone that she had never thought would do what he had done to her that night.

*Looking up at her, his ice blue eyes growing wide Sam found him looking rather uneasy, as if the situation wasn't what he had planned on.*

How could he have reacted that way? How could he look at his best friend with that look of total unease, as if she were a woman that wanted his soul? Shaking her head she remembered that he hadn't seemed to care at that moment, not until she had walked away. He had apologized, well, had attempted to, but she could see that he was just trying to make everything alright. They had never really fought and left it open. No, they had always made up, their friendship making it through fights that would have broken several other friendships. She knew that having sex with him, no, making love with him was wrong. She loved him and although he had thrown her love off like a dirty clothing item she was still pining for him.

'I am so stupid. Danny will never look at me like that! I was just a good lay and nothing more. He must have needed a release!' Again her heart pushed at her that the idea her best friend could look at her with anything but respect was a mistake. She knew that in her heart of hearts Danny loved her, but only as a friend. He wanted a woman like Pauline, like Star or like Valerie. All of them had one thing in common. They were a man's woman. They knew how to keep a man happy, how to look so sexy and so innocent at the same time so that their man was happy and yet satisfied that no man knew that same intimacy. She could never be like that. She was a Goth, a woman of the darkness and with her life as it had been she would never be super open with her body or emotions like they had. They were all wealthy in their own right and she, she just looked as wealth as another attachment that drowned you.

"Sam," came a male voice. The Goth in question looked up, her amethyst gaze meeting up with the man that had taken her, his ice blue eyes seeing that she was no longer fooled by his appearance. "Ah, I can see that you are strong, like I heard that you were." She nodded, but made no move to distance herself from him.

"Who are you?" she inquired, sitting up as he moved toward her, his eyes keeping locked with hers. He wanted to revert to his original body, but he wanted to ensure that she would be okay with that. He needed her aid in finding out about the death of the two ghost hunters.

"My name is Neo, and as you know a halfa." She opened her mouth to ask more, but he held up his hand, sensing her questions and her request. Transforming before her he appeared as his natural form. His ice blue eyes reverted to a blue green appearance while his raven hair remained the same. "I was born in a time that halfas were looked upon as normal. My father was human...my mother was a ghost." Sam remained silent, waiting for more of his story and so he told her. After all was said and done she seemed to have relaxed, her mind working this over.

Danny had married, his union producing two children and then he was killed along with his wife. There were several humans and ghosts alike that would have wanted him dead, but to shun his halfa children would have been someone who hated their breed. There were two humans, well, one human and one halfa that would have wanted that. They both hated ghosts even though one was part ghost and one had dated a halfa.

"So, you want me to figure who killed them?" She was confused on how she could help him with that. "I don't know how I can help you." He smiled before holding out a certain necklace, the initials making her smile too. How had she not thought of that, but at the same time why hadn't he gone back? As if reading her mind he told her.

"I am a halfa, not part of that time, unlike the time that you, Tucker and Danny went forward or the ghosts that came back to your time. They were all part of it and you are part of the time that we would be going forward to." Before she could say a word he produced another necklace. "Don't worry, I will accompany you, but I will be invisible." She nodded and agreed to help him. Even if she didn't like that Danny had married, she was happy to help him. That was just how she was. A friend to the end. He smiled, the first real smile. He had enjoyed being with her, even if it had been under false pretenses, but he had wanted to be with one woman who would never shun someone for being different.

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Danny sneezed, his eyes watering before he sneezed one more time. Looking around he shrugged it off. Maybe he was catching a cold. He was getting closer to the Tower. He would need the aid of the one person who had said he couldn't help, but Danny figured if he waited long enough then he would get the help he needed because somehow someone from another time had come to his time. That meant that either he had powers that no other ghost had besides Clockwork, or he had the necklaces. If he came from the past then there would be some necklaces missing. If he came from a future than there would not be anything missing.

The halfa hadn't paid much attention the first time around. Now he would. His green eyes spotted the place he was heading for in the distance, but as he grew closer he felt something different in the air, a feeling of foreboding. Suddenly he spotted someone, no, more than one person flying into the castle that held the ghost of time. It appeared to be a man, someone around the size of Dan and a woman, her long raven hair flying behind her.

"Sam?" he gasped out in question. How could it be her? He was sure that Clockwork had said she had been with another male, not Dan like he had feared. This man held the same raven hair as he had as a human while his skin wasn't peach, but a light blue like Dan's own. Was Clockwork mistaken or was this male a ghost?! This made no sense. When Danny changed, as a halfa could do, his skin didn't change to such a color so why did this halfa have skin like that of a ghost and not like that of a human? But then he noticed that the woman with him didn't fight either. She held the hand of the male pulling her along.

Was she under a spell? She had seemed so in love with him...could that have been a lie? Giving himself a mental shake he knew that Sam would never lie. The emotions that had been in her eyes had been true so that meant she was under a spell. Rushing forward he was shocked to find a blast heading his way, his vision turning white as he dodged.


	7. Chapter 7

Sam looked behind her as a large blast struck something, her amethyst eyes trying hard to see what was happening, but Neo pulled her forward, his own green eyes looking at the area with worry swimming in the depths. She wanted to find out what was going on, but with that look in his eyes she knew that there might be a dilemma and he was trying to avoid it. Maybe it was the person who had killed Danny and his wife in the future coming to stop them.

As her back turned away, her shadow disappearing into the tower the light from the blast faded leaving a rather pissed Danny, the halfa turning his attention to the direction that it had come from. When he turned he found himself face to face with a ghost he had never seen, the teal haired male glaring at him with his blood red eyes. And yet as he looked at the male he found that there was something familiar about his. The male before him suddenly struck, a guitar coming out from behind his back, his fingers quick to strum out a tune, the sound echoing around Danny and making his head ache. Closing his eyes tightly he tried to fight the music.

It was like his mind had been scrambled, his thoughts jumbled with the harsh sounds entering his ears. He couldn't even begin to formulate a plan, but it didn't matter because as suddenly as the sound came it was gone. The tune cut off sharply with a squeal of rage. Opening his eyes he found himself looking at a sight he never thought he would see.

"Ember?" It was a question, soft as his ears were still ringing, but as the ringing in his ears died down he was able to think, his mind noticing rather quickly that Ember and the unknown ghost looked like twins save for the eyes and their genders. "What is going on?" The teal haired female thrust her guitar at the male, his answering thrust thrown back for a moment as they battled. It didn't take long for Ember to gain the upper hand, a familiar mechanical ghost coming to her aid in subduing the male. As soon as he was captured, his guitar confiscated and his own form tied down the pair turned to him.

"Hey, Baby Pop," the teal haired ghost greeted. "Heard this racket and thought I should come and shut it down." The halfa before her raised his dark brow in question. "Not that we like you or wanted to help you, but this little bastard needs to die."

"Okay, maybe I am slow, but what the hell is going on?" He looked to Skulker. "Why did you help me and who is this?" Ember began to fill him in on what had been happening in the Ghost Zone, where she had first met the male tied up before them and why she had helped him. In the end he felt more confused than ever. "So, this guy isn't from this time and is here causing issues? This bothers you because of the outcome of what he does which is what?"

"He makes ghosts outlaws in a way that makes us targets, ghosts and halfas alike." Okay, Danny could get behind them on that note. If that was what happened in the future then he wanted to stop that, but what happened that made it happen that way? Who could have thought to make halfas and ghosts something to abhor? "You think you want to know, but you really don't," Ember supplied, his green eyes flying to hers in question. "If you knew you would probab-" She was elbowed, her speech cut off.

"Let's just say, brat, that your future isn't something anyone wants." Danny was lost, but when Skulker headed off toward the tower with the unknown ghosts he and Ember followed. He had just been here and yet it seemed that while Clockwork hadn't told him anything the other ghosts knew something.

"Ah, so I see you found him," came the soft voice of the aging and yet unaging ghost. His figure came out from the shadows, his eyes never resting on the halfa as he looked down at the unknown. "You have done well as he is one of the more disastrous ones." Skulker just stood there while Ember seemed to want to know more. Now Clockwork turned to Danny. "And I see that you have brought the young one back."

"I want answers," Danny demanded to the shock of all in there. Even the ghost of time seemed taken back by the halfa's tone. Sighing he turned from the trio, an Observant coming forward to collect the teal haired male. "I want to know why Sam was with that guy and what is going on in the future that causes the Ghost Zone troubles!"

"Okay, Phantom," the older ghost stated, his body changing from young to aged. "Come with me," he said leading the halfa to the round mirror that had once shown him the future that Dan had created. As the young male watched images swirled in it's depths.

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Sam held Neo's hand, her eyes wide as she looked at the Ghost Zone they had entered into. It looked nothing like the one they had come from. The tower that they had entered into was dark, barren of life. There were ruins left from what had once been the halls of the Time Ghost's home. The mirror was intact...questionable as everything else lay broken.

"I stopped it from being damaged," Neo supplied. "Sadly I wasn't in time to protect the rest of the building...or it's keeper." He looked to a far wall, the picture of Clockwork hanging above his staff. There were no other items in the building, the place where the necklaces had once been empty. The bell that Danny had been repeatedly knocked into was also gone. She stepped away from him to walk to a window, the once purple skies she had known of the Zone replaced with a murky green that looked more like swamp water. She looked around from that spot at the window.

There had been more doors too. The once full space of the Zone more barren. The Goth turned from the view to look at Neo. He shook his head. He had little in the way of answers since he didn't know who had done it and why. Amethyst eyes narrowed and she said to him, "That means we better get to searching, though I don't think we are in the right time since this is obviously after whatever happened."

"Yes, this is, but we need to talk to someone who should know when it happened." Turning from her he headed down a cracked doorway, the darkness hiding him. She crept after him, unsure of where he could be going that would have answers. She got that answer though. Seeing what he was holding in his hands she felt her world spin. In his hands was something she had never thought she would see again and yet the appearance of it made her heart beat faster.

"Dan Phantom?" she whispered questionably. "Why would he know?" She looked into Neo's eyes, her question floating in the shadows between them. He shook his head, his hands shaking slightly as he opened the thermos to show her that the container was empty. "No," she breathed. "How?" She took a step back only to find herself hitting something warm and breathing. Her throat became dry as she turned around.


	8. Chapter 8

"How could this happen?" Danny questioned, his green eyes wide with confusion. "Who would want to cause damage? To cause ghosts and halfas to be something evil?" He turned back to the image of him dying with a shadowed woman next to him, another image flicking again before him of a small boy, his son. He reached out, his gloved fingers itching to touch the face staring back at him with sadness and yet he knew that by just touching the glass he couldn't really feel his child... He fisted that hand and turned to the people, the ghosts that were there with him. He needed to stop this future from happening, much like he had stopped Dan from killing his loved ones, but how? That was the real question at this point.

At that time he had known who he was fighting and he hadn't been alone. This time he only had the ghosts that were normally his enemies and a ghost that couldn't do anything to help him. Sam was gone, her absence still felt while Tucker was taking care of his own family.

"We will help you," Ember supplied stepping forward. "This doesn't mean we are friends, but a truce to help prevent our world from collapsing." Skulker's own eyes narrowed, but he too nodded his acceptance of this truce. "We can't let our world disappear." Danny nodded now, his hand coming out as if to shake hands with the ghosts before him. At first Skulker just looked, his eyes staring at the white gloved hand in hesitation before taking it in a firm grasp.

"As soon as it is done I will be back to hunting your pelt." His handshake grew tighter, but Danny didn't even flinch, his own gloved hand tightening. Both males turned to the the ghost of time. Clockwork turned back to the mirror, the image changing to one of this time period. Two shadows stood in what appeared to be the Tower, but it was different.

"There is a partnership being formed in the future, but of one from people in both present and future. These people will be your companions in this mission." He turned to the trio. "Find them and the answers shall be like a waterfall." The trio nodded as they took off from the Tower leaving the ghost of time alone, his lips lifting in a smirk of approval as he turned to the image on the mirror. "This will all end as it should," he whispered, his smirk dying as his eyes closed. "Even if some blood must be shed."

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"Dan!" she gasped, her body shaking as she looked into the red eyes of the male who had come to the past to kill them long ago. "W-Wha-" She felt the fear shrink a little as anger replaced it. "What are you doing here?!" she demanded, her spine stiffening. Behind her Neo stepped forward, his hands coming to rest on her shoulders, his own body shaking. He knew of Dan, had heard many a tale of the man before him and yet as he looked into the green eyes of the ghost before him he found that he wasn't sure about him. He was supposed to be the epitome of evil and yet those eyes weren't looking at them with disdain, not at the Goth before him anyway. The ghost looked unsure about him, his eyes only flickering to his for a moment before locking on the woman between them.

"Sam," he said, his voice low as his fangs flashed in the dim light of the room. "It has been a long time and yet you don't look much different." Now he looked around, as if realizing that the dungeon he had been kept in was quiet, no sounds of the ghost that had been his warden breaking the silence. "How long have I been in that cursed container?" He turned back to them. "And who are you?" He was looking at Neo now, his eyes narrowing as he took in the fingers that clung to Sam's shoulders. "And why are you with her?" Before Neo could answer Dan had moved, his movement too fast for Sam to see and for the other halfa to react as he pulled the Goth to his bulky form.

"Let her go!" Neo barked, his eyes narrowing at the other man as Sam stood stock still in the older Phantom's arms. Somehow he felt to familiar and yet she knew she had never been held by Dan. Looking up her eyes grew fuzzy and she saw someone else holding her...someone who looked like...

"Danny?" she whispered in shock before Dan's face reappeared. Sam had the urge to rub her eyes, but they were locked at her side as Dan's dark brows rose in confusion and Neo's own eyes grew wide. He had seen it for a second too. The change that had come over the evil man before them. What had that been? Danny was dead! The halfa's life taken! "Let me go, Dan!" the small woman growled as she began to struggle. The older ghost was in such shock that he did release her to the shock of the pair now before him. "How did you escape and why are you here?"

"The thermos just opened," the white haired ghost stated casually. "I popped out and found you and this person here." He looked to Neo now. "What I want to know is why a relation to Vlad is here?" Now Sam turned and looked at the male behind her. "Oh? You didn't know?" His eyes narrowed. "I guess even a generation or so down the line still carries the same traits as their ancestors." Neo didn't even blink, instead a smirk twisted his lips.

"This coming from a guy who is Vlad Masters." Sam felt uneasy standing between the two, both of them staring down the other with such hate that she was afraid a real fight was going to break out.

"I am only his ghost half," Dan stated with a shrug. "I am not his human half which was always bound to obsession."

"Wait," the Goth said, her hands going up. "I thought ghosts were obsessions." She looked to Dan. "Isn't that what holds all ghosts to this plane?" The white haired male nodded, but began to explain that Vlad, while obsessed in his ghost form had already been obsessed in his human form with a woman, an ideal, that he could never have. "Okay, this is true."

"But I am also Danny, a human male that though clinging to some ideals continued to change his focus. He went from wanting to be popular to just wanting to protect his loved ones. That isn't such a bad thing, unlike wanting to steal someone's wife after killing said former friend." Neo sighed deeply and closing his eyes began to massage the bridge of his nose. It was so like Vlad that Sam moved toward Dan, her amethyst orbs watching the male with a slight distrust floating in them.

"Okay, so I am Vlad's relative, but from the human Vlad," he stated removing his hand and opening his eyes. "Vlad's ghost half was taken out in my time, though my father did marry a ghost female." Now it was all coming out, but the Goth refused to remove herself from Dan's area, the older Phantom now looking down at the top of her head. He was curious as to why the small woman would even move toward him for safety, unless she was doing it unconsciously because of his small connection to her friend. If that was the case then she should reconsider that idea. He wasn't her friend and was likely the worser of the two evils. Looking up at the male glaring at him, he began to reconsider his own notions.

This male wasn't someone he knew, though he could sense the other male in him, and he couldn't judge whether he meant the female harm or good. Suddenly a smell hit him, a rather light scent that in all the confusion hadn't alerted him to the underlying situation.

"You slept with him," Dan stated to the shock of the woman before him. "You slept with this thing." The Goth looked back at him, her stance changing, though she still didn't move away from him.

"Yes. Yes, I did, but that is none of your concern."

"Ah, but it is when I clearly remember you having a thing fo-" Before he could finish the sentence the male before him, the one he had yet to learn his name changed his appearance and it all clicked. "Brat." Sam turned her gaze from both men, her shame making her cheeks burn as Dan moved to stand before her, his cape hiding her from Neo. "Bastard," was all that was heard before the male before her rushed at the other ghost.


	9. Chapter 9

Sam watched in muted shock as Dan rushed at Neo, the other male moving to thwart his attack just seconds before the older Danny struck, the ground shaking with the force of the blow. She wasn't sure why, but for some reason she was feeling shame for sleeping with Neo, especially knowing it was him. She hadn't realized it at first, or maybe she had and had blocked it out because of the pain from Danny's obvious rejection. Watching the pair power up ecto blasts made the Gothic female react, fear at the death of either one of the ghostly men shaking her.

"Okay! Both of you stop it!" she cried rushing between the pair, or trying to as the males moved rather quickly to strike and deflect the other's blasts. Dan threw a blast that just missed Neo, the young male dodging to the right and returning fire. "Dan! Neo!" She realized was getting nowhere with the pair, neither of the men paying much attention the one they were fighting over. It was when someone else arrived on the scene that everything changed. In the blink of an eye Sam found herself watching as Danny subdued Dan and Skulker took down Neo, both ghosts unprepared for the interference.

"What the fuck?!" the older halfa growled as he struggled against Danny while Neo looked to Skulker in surprise.

"I should ask the same thing," Danny responded while looking to Sam for clarification. "I want to know what the hell is going on." The Goth knew what he was asking for, that he knew she wasn't kidnapped and at this point she was a willing partner in all of it. Before she could answer though Neo spoke up, all heads turning to him. Sam was still seeing the betrayal in Danny's glowing green eyes and at the same time she was thinking of the way that Dan had reacted. He was Danny essentially even if he was also Vlad too.

"I am behind it all," the ghostly male clarified, telling them of his mission quickly and then giving limited information about his abduction of Sam. At that point Dan scoffed, yanking his arms out of Danny's now lax grip.

"Did you forget to tell the brat about your power and that you slept with his little Gothic friend?" The halfa looked to Sam in confusion, the betrayal even stronger in his green gaze, her cheeks heating under his hurt gaze. She wanted to look away, the pain in his eyes making her heart stop. It felt like a vice was wrapped tightly and getting tighter by the second. "Tell him," the older halfa commanded harshly. She took a deep breath and again she was cut off.

"Again, I tricked her," the future male stated before changing into Danny. A gasp rose among the trio that weren't aware of the secret.

"You bastard!" the young male cried, but before he could attempt to attack the other male Sam stepped forward to stand next to Neo.

"No, Danny," she said, her eyes closing for a second, opening back up to reflect tears that shimmered over the amethyst orbs. "Sure, he tricked me at first, but after..." she faded off. "After what happened with you and me I was probably not as clear minded as I should have been. I knew who he was after the fact and continued to stay with him, especially when he said he needed my help to save our future."

"I don't un-" She shook her head cutting him off. She knew the lie he was going to tell, the denial he was going to give her.

"Don't give me that," she whispered. "Don't say what you think you are going to tell." She took a step toward him. "You were the one that looked at me with such dismay not a few days ago." Again he seemed to want to say something, but she wouldn't allow him. It had been embarrassing that she had wanted more, no, that she had thought he had wanted more from her. Now she took a step back, her eyes becoming shuttered from his intense green gaze. "We were stupid...No," she said looking down now. "I was stupid. I thought that you were done playing around. That you wanted more from a relationship and that it was from me, but you were too drunk and I took advantage of that." Now she looked to Neo and then back to the halfa that had made her happy and sad. "Danny, if you truly wanted more from me you wouldn't have looked so scared."

"Enough of this!" Dan growled as he looked at all the parties involved. "Danny fucked up and Neo isn't one that can truly get involved with anyone in this timeline!" He looked to Sam. He could tell that she knew that, but at the same she didn't look like she was after that with that particular male. She was hurt. "The biggest issue is with what this future brat has told us." He looked to Danny. "As much as I hate it this has to do with your life and how it plays out as well as for all the Ghost Zone." The halfa seemed to get what he was saying and nodding at the older male then turned to the one that had come to them for help. 

"What can I do?" The older male explained what he needed of them and with a plan in motion they all headed out, Neo in disguise as the world around them became one that none of them imagined.


	10. Chapter 10

The world around them was just like Dan's had been with the air cars and the fancy homes. The only real big differences to his time was that there was no dome structure protecting the town and Fenton Works wasn't turned over to Valerie and her father. Walking out of the shadows where the portal had dropped them.

"It looks like my time," the older halfa remarked with a slight turn of his head toward Danny. "Though, there are more humans around in this time." He turned to Neo, the other halfa looking rather happy to be home. He wondered at that, but then when he looked to the skies it seemed as if he were almost nervous.

"It's the exact opposite," the other male warned just seconds before a rather familiar looking blond male appeared before them, his blue eyes narrowing suspiciously at the group. "Hi Mr. Baxter." The blond didn't even give him a second glance as he glared at Danny behind him before turning his gaze to Dan before settling on Sam.

"You look like Fenton and Manson," he stated before returning his gaze to Dan. "But you, you look like Fenton..." Sam walked over to him, her own amethyst eyes narrowed.

"And you look like white trash," she growled. "Buzz off!" At first it looked like Dash wouldn't go and then he moved, his blue eyes watching them even as he continued on. She turned to Neo, questions in her amethyst eyes.

"He doesn't like halfas or ghosts. One of many that would rather we die out..." he faded off, but all of them got what he wasn't saying. He thought that Dash had something to do with the death of Danny and his wife, someone they still hadn't figured out. Could she be Valerie? Sam had already thrown that one out the window since the light skinned female had proclaimed that she didn't like ghosts, no matter how much Dani felt otherwise. She was also married to Tucker. Taking a step out she looked around, Fenton Works to their left. She figured the best place to start was there, where Danny and his spouse stayed with their children.

"Are you sure you're ready for that?" Dan inquired. The Goth looked at him in surprise. The older version of Danny had never been warm to her knowledge and yet he seemed to know her thoughts. Before she could respond Neo told her that they couldn't go there, not yet.

"Then where should we go?" Danny questioned. Neo turned away from Fenton Works toward the part of the city that looked high maintenance and all of them got the gist of it.

They walked down the street, for the most part steering clear of anyone who might know them or want to talk as Dash had. Sam looked at Dan, her mind going over the fact that the male beside her wasn't like he had been that time. The time that he tried to take them out, well, the multiple times he had. She should fear him and yet even after he had tried to kill them all she still found that he wasn't that scary. She had had time to analyze him, as Jazz had. The pair of females, though not friends had confided to each other about the older halfa and his past. Both had concluded that with how he had been left alone, no family or friends, that the halfa had had little chance. Sadly, he had been overtaken by his bad choice, though it had been noble.

"What are you thinking about?" came a voice from her right. She looked to Danny, her mind drawing a blank on what to tell him. She was shocked that he was talking to her and what her mind had been on wasn't something she believed would make him very happy.

"Dan," she muttered, her eyes cutting to the male in question. "I was just wondering about how much he has changed." The halfa at her side glanced over at the male. He could tell that Dan had in fact changed, but he didn't think that he could trust him, but then again the halfa had also been the one to try and take Sam from Neo, another halfa. Neo was confusing to him. He seemed like the bad guy for what he had done to get the Goth and what he had done to Sam, but yet he had come for help. Who was he really? The fact that Neo and Dan were both part of Vlad in some way still made him nervous for Sam's sake. She had slept with Vlad in some sick way and yet Danny wasn't ready to let her go.

"Maybe he has, but he is still the enemy," was the now white haired male. "He tried to kill you and my family!" The Goth nodded, but then began to make her point about how the male had tried to protect her and seemed rather remorseful for what he had done. Before Danny could argue back with her about the merits of the former evil male and believing that he had changed after one day of hanging out with him Neo stopped, his head craning to look at the large home before them. At first glace you knew who had lived there, the green and gold colors an eyesore to most of the group.

"Vlad's?" Dan questioned with a rather annoyed look on his face. "Why are we here?" Neo turned to the group.

"Vlad is one of our suspects and even if it turns out that he didn't do it there is still a chance he might know who is." Danny looked skeptical, Dan a little unsure as well while Ember, Skulker, and Sam seemed ready to check this lead out. The group headed forward, the gate before them not an obstacle to the only human, Sam, as the group phased thru it. "It might be a little hard to get him to talk, but with all of us together it might be a bit easier."

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"I have no clue what you are talking about," Vlad growled in annoyance. "Why would I kill ghosts or even halfas?" He sat behind a large desk, his blue eyes giving the group a once over as he leaned back. "That would mean that I would have to be killed since everyone knows that I am a halfa." He then turned to Neo. "And as I have passed my genes on to your mother and you that would benefit me little." Sam nodded, as did the group. Neo had lead them to a dead end.

"I knew this was a waste of time," the halfa grumbled. "It would make no sense that a halfa would kill others, especially one that knew he would be sacrificed as well." He looked at Vlad in contempt. "This bastard would never willingly destroy himself or his work." Though the other male looked upset at Danny's words he nodded.

"While this halfa is the bane of my existence he is right. I would never do something that I couldn't escape from." He looked to Neo. "And the fact that my own blood would think that." The halfa in question narrowed his eyes. "Though I knew you hated me."

"I more than hate you," he spat. "I despise you!" He looked to Sam. "He did try to kill Danny as well as Jack several times, even after he was revealed to be the hated ghost, Plasmius." The Goth nodded. She believed it as Vlad had an unhealthy obsession with Maddie, Danny's mother and Jack's wife. "He tried to take out a good portion of Amity several years ago, only planning to spare Maddie." The group looked at him in both shock and horror. Vlad only chuckled.

"This is true, but still I never achieved my goal." He looked rather serious now. "Your mother found out about my plan and laid me out pretty good." He smiled now, the gesture one of sadness. It seemed that Maddie had gotten through to him and although it made him sad he seemed to have come to terms with it. "Now, there is one other person that I am sure you are looking at," he stated, his face returning to that normal arrogant look he had. "The one that once worked for me, Valerie."

"We were looking into her, but she was married to Danny," the Goth stated, her tone almost hateful, but once Vlad smirked she knew that there was something that Neo had neglected to mention, her amethyst eyes locking onto his own orbs.

"Ah, so he has neglected to tell you who the brat married." He paused. "Wise move since it would cause more problems at this point than help." Now he turned to Danny. "Valerie would make a good villain for this, but she has been out of Amity for several years. Couldn't deal with having someone she looked up to and loved the very thing she hated." He looked thoughtful. "Last I heard she was living across the world with a very wealthy man."

"Then who does that leave us with?" Ember questioned.

"It doesn't leave us with anyone," Dan stated. "Those were your two suspects," he continued turning to Neo. The man in question shook his head. "You have more?" Nodding Neo turned to Vlad.

"Yes, I do have one more, but he hasn't been found yet." By the way he said it the group had a feeling they weren't going to like the nomination. "He used to be a great person, though there were times we all questioned his loyalty...when he got Danny in more trouble than he helped with." He looked regretful and the trio before him knew, though the two ghosts didn't, who he was about to put out there.


	11. Chapter 11

The shadow growled in annoyance as he watched from his tower. The group that was heading toward him was ones he didn't really want to fight head on. He knew that in real life he was no match for the halfa. The raven haired teen had had more time with his powers and more powers period. The plus was that Neo, the other halfa that he had seen with the group was gone. Only other issue was Dan. Dan was far more powerful than Danny with his evil energy.

"I need a plan," he muttered. That was always an issue with him. He never really had a plan. He just jumped in and thought it would go his way. He never had, but a man could dream. Floating down the stairs that lead to the main room he waited, but not before calling his other minions for his dirty work. Now he waited and it didn't take long for the group to show up, all of them looking a little perplexed when they saw him, his usual teal eyes a vibrant green color.

"I can't believe it," Danny muttered as the group nodded. Even Dan seemed baffled at the behavior of the male before them. Someone who would want the ghosts gone and someone who also would want to destroy both Sam and Danny! It just seemed to be something they could never see him as wanting...well save for the time he himself had become ghost and tried to kill Danny. "Why?"

"Because I grew tired of playing second fiddle to you and Sam!" the dark skinned male muttered. "I was never truly apart of the group. You two were a duo and never a trio!" Sam looked to Danny and then they all looked around at the group around them. It was plain to see that all of them were wondering what the hell he was talking about.

"Um-you were part of the group, Tucker. How could you believe otherwise?" Tucker threw his friend a glare. "You were there long before I was ghost! You and Sam are my best friends, not one better than the other."

"Danny, you were always number one and when it came to choosing to saving one or the other you always went after HER!" He looked at Sam and with a flick of his wrists entrapped the Goth in a stream of light. Sam fought against her capture, a small whimper escaping her lavender lips as the stream tightened. "I am done with playing second place to her and tired of you bossing me around!" Now he turned to Danny, another stream of energy rushing at the halfa. Dan was the one that moved, his body moving at the speed of light to move the halfa from the danger.

It was a shocker to all as Dan was captured, his muscular form raised high as Tucker moved the other ghost next to Sam. With a simple motion Tucker moved Dan to his other beam, leaving his left hand free to try again. He had little chance as Ember strummed her guitar chords, the sound echoing around them and shaking the rafters. Tucker was thrown off giving Skulker a chance to take the dark skinned male down. It all happened so quickly, Sam and Dan dropped abruptly while Danny rushed to the pair. Ember began strumming again, the group assured in the outcome. Unfortunately for them it wasn't so.

"Dnahnu em!" the male cried as he threw his hands out. The ground below him crumbled, opening up into the Ghost Zone. A look of shock came over his face as he fell thru the hole. It was as if he couldn't fly, cause no matter how much he moved his arms he just kept falling. It was as if the ground were sucking him up, but in that second, the moment where he could have been gone Danny rushed out, Sam with him, the pair of ghost fighters attempting to save their best friend. They knew he wanted them dead, but they would deal with that once they got him back to safety. Looking down at him they reached, Danny flying closer than Sam could to grasp his friend by the collar of his hooded robe.

"Come on, dammit!" the pair cried looking to their companions to assist. At first it didn't seem that the trio behind them would help. After all, Tucker was the one that had destroyed their home, or at least was going to.

"Help them," Dan muttered. Skulker and Ember looked at him with a look of I'm not going to do that. The former Ultimate Enemy growled low and with a flash of his blood red orbs caused a look of horror to flash on the other two ghosts faces before they followed his command. It took all the strength of the five companions to pull Tucker up. As the dark skinned male lay on the ground, inches from the hole he had created only moments ago the other two ghost fights looked at said hole and found the reason that Tucker couldn't fly and the fact that they couldn't pull him out alone.

"A black hole?" It was a curious thing. There was a black hole in the Ghost Zone. A sheepish chuckle came from behind them. Looking over their shoulder they found Tucker looking away with a blush tinting his cheeks. They realized right then that they were looking at a younger Tucker. Raised brows and questions arose, but Danny and Sam didn't ask a thing. They spoke softly to their friend, berating him on his choices, never giving him a chance to speak. They tore into him with all their issues and anger, leaving the young male trembling. A quiver of his chin only gave the pair a pause before informing him of their choice to send him back to his time.

"You better not do this, Tucker," Sam spat. "You better just go back to your time and remember what we said." Tucker nodded, a most compliant male at that moment. Looking to Ember, Skulker and Dan they pushed the small half human Tucker toward the group.

"Turn him back into human," Danny muttered. With a nod the older halfa was gone, his allies with him. That left Sam and Danny alone. She looked to the halfa, her mouth opening to say something before changing her mind. She was silent and that wasn't the Goth that Danny was used to. Before he could prompt her though it seemed that she had a word to say.

"Danny, I know that you weren't pleased with the conclusion of out little sleepover, but I was. I don't expect anything fr-" Her sentence ended abruptly, her lips crushed under Danny's own cool lips. He pulled her close, her lips becoming pliant under his. Then she pulled back, not roughly, but instantly. "What are you doing?"

"Kissing you," he stated.

"Danny, you aren't a one woman man," Sam stated.

"I am because I always knew I loved you. All I am doing now is returning to Love." The Goth let out a chuckled. "Corny?"

"Too much." Danny smirked and leaning down kissed her again.

"But I do love you, Sam Manson." She sighed, but looking into his green eyes she could see that it was the truth and as corny as his words had been they had been true. She, too, had been returning to Love.

"I love you too, Danny. I love you too."


End file.
